Pakistan J. Zool., vol. 47(2), pp. 479-490, 2015.

Intestinal Absorption Function of Broiler Chicks Supplemented with

Ginkgo Leaves Fermented with Bacillus Species
Wanwen Yu,1 Xuhui Zhang,1 Hussain Ahmad,2 Linguo Zhao,3 Tian Wang2 and Fuliang Cao1*
1
Collaborative Innovation Center of Sustainable Forestry in Southern China of Jiangsu Province, Nanjing
Forestry University, Nanjing, China
2
College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
3
College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China
Abstract.- This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of supplementing diets with Bacillus subtilis var.
natto (Bac natto) or Bac licheniformis-fermented Ginkgo biloba leaves (FG) on growth performance, intestinal
morphology, absorption function and apoptosis in chicks. A total of 240 one-day-old Arbor Acress broilers, were
randomly allocated to 3 dietary treatments with 8 replications of 10 birds each. Birds were fed basal diets (control),
basal diets supplemented with 0.35% FG with Bac natto (FBN group), or basal diets supplemented with 0.35% FG
with Bac licheniform (FBL group), respectively, for 42 d. The results showed (P<0.05) an improvement with low
mortality due to F/G in FBN and FBL groups during the period of 22-42 d and 0-42 d, respectively compared to the
control group. Compared with the control group, birds fed with FG diets had higher (P<0.05) activities of pancreatic,
duodenal and jejunal protease as well as pancreatic and duodenal amylase. Duodenal villus height and VH/CD ratio,
as well as jejunal VH/CD ratio was improved (P<0.05) in FBN or FBL groups. In addition, decreased (P<0.05)
duodenal apoptosis index (AI) was observed in FG groups compared with the control group. Birds in both FG groups
exerted an increased (P<0.05) plasma D-xylose, whereas broilers fed FBN diets led to lower (P<0.05) serum urea
nitrogen (SUN) levels compared with the control group. The present study may indicate that application of FG in the
diet proved to have positive influence on feed efficiency and intestinal absorption functions.
Key words: Broilers, fermented ginkgo leaves, digestive enzyme activities, intestinal absorption.

INTRODUCTION

Over the last decade, the importance of

gastrointestinal tract health in broiler chicks has
been increasingly recognized due to its contribution
to their overall health and performance (Mountzouris et al., 2007). The use of antibiotics at
subtherapeutic levels has been a cornerstone of the
poultry industry for the control of subclinical
diseases, maintenance of gut health and growth
promotion for decades. However, antibiotic use
tends to produce antibiotic resistance and have led
to an increase in intestinal stress, which may further
lead to decreased absorptive function and enable
colonization by pathogens. This may pose a severe
health hazard for birds and consumers of poultry
products. Therefore, an urgent need exists to find
alternative strategies that can effectively control
____________________________
*

Corresponding author: fuliangcaonjfu@163.com

0030-9923/2015/0002-0479 $ 8.00/0
Copyright 2015 Zoological Society of Pakistan

intestinal health and retain growth-promoting

properties similar to antibiotics.
With regards to this, the combined use of
microbials and natural phytogenic resource has
earned attention as viable alternative means for
enhancing growth performance and improving
intestinal health and function common to poultry
(Steiner, 2006). Bacillus are aerobic, endosporeforming bacteria that are well defined and have
recently shown tremendous promise because of their
inherent capacity to form spores that can withstand
harsh environmental stress and transitions during
storage and handling (Cartman et al., 2008).
Bacillus spores are extremely suitable strains
candidates used for fermentation because of their
longevity and stability.
Ginkgo biloba L. (Family: Ginkgoaceae) is a
traditional herb in China, which has been used in
some areas of the world, showing high physiological
activities in therapies for inflammations, vascular
and cardiac diseases and cancers (Puebla-Prez et
al., 2003; Ye et al., 2007; Sochocka et al., 2010;
Chen et al., 2011). Leaves of Ginkgo biloba are well

480

Y. WANWEN ET AL.

known for its high content of flavonoids.

Chemically, the active components of Ginkgo
biloba leaf are flavonoids (flavone glycosides,
primarily composed of quercetin), polysaccharides
(polymers of glucose, rhamnose, arabinose,
mannose, galactose and xylose) and terpenoids
(ginkolides and bilobalides) (Li et al., 2012; van
Beek and Montoro, 2009). There were numerous
reports in animals indicated that Ginkgo flavonoids
posses many beneficial effects, including
antioxidant and anti-inflammatory (Jenkins and
Atwal, 1995; Cao et al., 2002; Ding et al., 2009).
In recent years, fermentation is a useful tool
for producing biological materials with health
promoting properties and is an optimal way to solve
overproduction and stimulate processing use of
various fruits and vegetables (Dei et al., 2008; Ng et
al., 2011). Studies have demonstrated that
fermentation not only alters the original bioactivities
of Chinese herbs, resulting in new treatment effects,
but also enhances the original treatment efficacy
(Miyake et al., 2005; Lin and Chiang, 2008). China
has a large scale production of ginkgo leaves for
years, about forty thousand tons every year, and
mainly distributes in Jiangsu, Shandong, Sichuan,
Zhejiang provinces. In the last few years, large-scale
cultivation of ginkgo has been initiated. Therefore,
it is important to find out a way to utilize this herbal
resource as feed ingredient and unveil its potential
economic value in feed industry. Our previous
researches confirmed that the use of 0.5%
Aspergillus niger fermented-Ginkgo biloba leaves
products minimized the deleterious effects of
endotoxin, improved the intestinal development,
absorption and immunity in immune-stressed
chickens (Zhang et al., 2013). Dietary total
flavonoids and polysaccharides were most likely the
key compounds responsible for the healthimproving effect of the fermentation products (Cao
et al., 2012). Despite these findings, there has been
a dearth of information on the possible intestinal
protective effect of FG.
Bacillus spp. can be found in the normal
intestinal flora of poultry and are capable of
germinating and resporulating in the gastrointestinal
tract of chickens (Barbosa et al., 2005; Tam et al.,
2006; Cartman et al., 2008). Spores are known to
withstand the process of pelletizing feed and, once

ingested, germinate in the gastrointestinal tract

because of the influence of pH, nutrients, and other
relevant factors (Shivaramaiah et al., 2011). In their
vegetative form, Bacillus spp. produce extracellular
enzymes that may enhance digestibility and
absorption of nutrients in addition to overall
immune function of the gut (Samanya and
Yamauchi, 2002; Chen et al., 2009). To promote
processing of ginkgo leaves and improve the quality
of pelletized feed, we have developed a process for
Bacillus species fermentation wherein the
functionality of this resources is preserved and
enhanced. The aim in this study was to investigate
the effect of supplementing diets with Bacillus
subtilis var. natto (Bac natto) or Bac licheniformis fermented Ginkgo biloba leaves on growth
performance, intestinal morphology and absorption
function of chicks.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Preparation of starter cultures
The Bac natto and Bac licheniform used in
this study was a laboratory strain obtained from the
College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forest
University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. Both Bacillus
species were cultured by an agar plating technique
using Sabouraud dextrose agar (Oxoid Ltd.,
Basingstoke, UK) and incubated at 37C for 24 h.
Preparation of fermented-ginkgo leaves sample
Comminuted (2.0-mm sieve) dried ginkgo
leaves picked during the last third of September
(ginkgo garden for leaf use, Nanjing Forestry
University, Jiangsu Province, China) were used for
this study. They were divided into 2 lots after
autoclave sterilization. One lot was untreated (no
fermentation), and the other lot was fermented using
Bac natto and Bac licheniform, respectively. The
fermentation medium contained 10 g solid medium
(ginkgo leaves : corncob: wheat bran = 14 : 3 : 3)
and 12 mL nutritive salt (glucose : urea:
MgSO47H2O : KH2PO4 = 30 : 30 : 1 : 6) and was
inoculated with 10% of the Bac natto and Bac
licheniform seed, respectively and then cultivated at
37C, for a 48 h aerobic fermentation with the initial
pH7.0. The fermented sample was spread on a
polythene sheet in a room at 30-40C, dried for 6 d

FERMENTED GINKGO LEAVES ON BROILER DIET

Table I.-

481

Changes of main nutritional ingredients and amino acids contents before and after fermentation

Ginkgo leaves

Fermented with Bac natto

Increment
%

Fermented with
Bac licheniform
After

Increment
%

Before

After

6.6

7.5

13.64

7.7

16.67

4.37
21.06
15.653
1.664
100
0.4

6.42
33.43
20.513
0.054
260
3.5

46.91
58.74
31.05
-96.75
160.00
775.00

6.48
30.29
18.348
0.049
252
3.46

48.28
43.83
17.22
-97.06
152.00
765.00

Concentration of Indispensable amino acid /g/kg

Lysine
7.7
Threonine
8.75
Leucine
12.34
Isoleucine
5.93
Methionine
2.18
Tryptophan
5.29
Phenylalanine
7.66
Tyrosine
5.29
Histidine
4.55
Glycine
9.91
Arginine
9.46

8.48
10.07
13.86
6.25
4.63
5.26
8.88
5.26
5.45
22.86
13.74

10.13
15.09
12.32
5.40
112.39
-0.57
15.93
-0.57
19.78
130.68
45.24

7.85
10.49
14.05
6.61
3.07
5.51
8.76
5.51
5.65
31.28
14.05

1.95
19.89
13.86
11.47
40.83
4.16
14.36
4.16
24.18
215.64
48.52

Total flavonoids /mg of quercetin

equivalents/g
Polysaccharides/g/kg
Protein/g/kg
Total amino acid/g/kg
Total ginkgolic acid g/kg
Protease activity (Unit/g)
-glucosidase activity (Unit/g)

upto about 900 g/kg of the dry matter, and ground to

pass through a 0.15-mm sieve. The changes of the
ingredients before and after the fermentation are
shown in Table I. Repetitious examination showed
that the proportion of components in polysavone
was constant within a minute range.
Experimental design and animal husbandry
A total of 240 one-day-old healthy
commercial Arbor Acres chicks with the initial body
weight (BW) 48.85 g were purchased from a local
commercial hatchery. Birds were randomly placed
in 40 wire cages (200 cm155 cm80 cm) with 10
chickens (0.15 m2 per chick) each in a 3-level
battery and housed in a room maintained at a
brooding temperature of 34C to 35C for 5 d, and
then the environmental temperature was gradually
reduced by 1C every 2 days until a final
temperature of 22C was reached in keeping with
normal brooding practice. The light regimen was a
12-h lightdark cycle (06:00-18:00 h light)
throughout the trial. Meanwhile, all broiler chickens
were ad libitum access to the feed and water. The
experimental design and procedures were approved

by the Animal Care and Use of Committee of

Nanjing Forestry University following the
requirements of the Regulations for the
Administration of Affairs Concerning Experimental
Animals of China (The State Science and
Technology Commission, 1988). The rearing period
was 6 weeks.
During the entire rearing period, all chickens
were randomly allocated to 3 treatment groups with
8 replicates 10 animals each (male and female were
half-and-half). A cage was treated as one replicate.
The 3 treatment groups were allocated to the control
group (basal diet), FBN and FBL groups (basal diets
supplemented with 0.35% FG with Bac natto or
0.35% FG with Bac licheniform, respectively, at the
expense of wheat bran). The percentage of all other
major ingredients remained the same across
treatments. The composition of the corn-soybean
basal diets and nutrient levels for the starter (1 to 21
d) and grower phase (22 to 42 d) formulated to meet
NRC (1994) nutrient requirements are shown in
Table II. The dietary total flavonoids and
polysaccharides contents for the broilers are shown
in Table III.

482

Table II.-

Y. WANWEN ET AL.

Ingredients and nutrient composition of broiler diets, on fed basis.

Ingredients (%)
Maize
Soybean meal
Wheat bran
Corn gluten meal
Lard
Limestone
Dicalcium phosphate
Sodium chloride
L-Lysine
DL-Methionine
Premix1
Total

Starter

Grower

60.34
30.22
0.50
2.00
2.03
1.10
1.39
0.20
0.07
0.15
1.00
100

64.68
24.23
0.40
4.00
2.83
1.27
1.27
0.25
0.16
0.11
1.00
100

Nutrient levels2

1-21 d

22-42 d

Metabolizable energy, MJ/kg

Crude protein, %
Calcium, %
Available phosphorus, %
Lysine, %
Methionine, %
Methionine + cystine, %
Threonine, %

12.30
20.07
1.00
0.45
1.13
0.50
0.82
0.97

12.60
20.30
0.90
0.40
1.00
0.44
0.74
0.81

Premix provided per kilogram of diet: transretinyl acetate, 24mg; cholecalciferol, 6mg; menadione, 1.3 mg; thiamin, 2.2 mg;
riboflavin, 8 mg; nicotinamide, 40 mg; choline chloride, 400 mg; calcium pantothenate, 10 mg; pyidoxineHCl, 4 mg; biotin, 0.04 mg;
folic acid, 1 mg; vitamin B12 (cobalamin), 0.013 mg; Fe (from ferrous sulfate), 80 mg; Cu (from copper sulfate), 7.5 mg; Mn (from
manganese sulfate), 110 mg; Zn (from zinc oxide), 65 mg; I (from calcium iodate), 1.1 mg; Se (from sodium selenite), 0.3 mg;
Bacitracin Zinc, 30 mg.
Table III.-

Dietary
treatments1

Cont.
FBN
FBL

Total flavonoids and polysaccharides contents

in the diets of broilers.
Total flavonoids/mg
of quercetin
equivalent/kg
1-21 d
22-42 d
0.092
0.519
0.521

0.071
0.531
0.533

Total
polysaccharides/mg/kg
1-21 d

22-42 d

0.059
0.353
0.356

0.056
0.364
0.365

Cont., basal diet; FBN, basal diet with 0.35% Bac natto
fermented ginkgo leaves; FBL, basal diet with 0.35% Bac
licheniform fermented ginkgo leaves;

Chickens were weighed individually at the

age of 1, 21, and 42 d to determine average daily
body weight gain (BWG). Feed consumption on a
cage/replicate basis was recorded daily, the uneaten
feed was discarded, and the feeders were
replenished with fresh feed. Average daily feed
intake (FI) and feed-to-gain ratio (F/G) were
calculated.
Sampling procedure
At the termination of the study, 8 chicks per
treatment (one bird per replicate) were selected 12
hrs after feed deprivation. Individual blood samples
were taken and serum were separated by
centrifugation at 3500 rpm for 15 min, at 4C.

Serum samples were frozen at -20C for serum urea

nitrogen (SUN) analysis. After that, all birds were
euthanized by exsanguination. A 1-cm segment of
the duodenum, jejunum and ileum was taken from
the middle part of each intestinal section, and
immediately rinsed with cold physiological saline
and fixed in 4% paraffin. The tissue samples were
serially dehydrated in graded ethanol solutions (50,
70, 80, 96, and 100%), cleared with xylene and
embedded in paraffin wax. Tissue samples were
then sectioned using a microtome at a thickness of 5
m (3 cross sections from each sample) for further
determining
the
terminal
deoxynucleotidyl
transferase-mediated
dUDP-biotin
nick-end
labelling (TUNEL) and histomorphometry. Next,
pancreas and intestinal digesta of duodenum and
jejunum were collected. The sampling of small
intestinal digesta and the pancreas tissue was
conducted according to the procedures described by
Jin et al. (2000).
Measurement of the main nutritional ingredients in
FGL
The aluminum chloride colorimetric method
described by Chang et al. (2002) and Verzelloni et
al. (2007) was used to determine the total flavonoids
content with some modifications. Briefly, aliquots
of 1.0 g fermented samples or diets were dissolved
and extracted with 200 mL of 80% alcohol for 6 to 8

FERMENTED GINKGO LEAVES ON BROILER DIET

h at 90C. The extraction was made up to 200 mL

with distilled water after filtration. One milliliter
solution or standard solution was mixed with 1.5
mL methanol, 1 mL of 1% aluminum chloride
(substituted with distilled water in blank probe), 0.1
mL of 1 M potassium acetate, and 2.8 mL of
distilled water. After 30 min incubation, absorbance
at 415 nm was determined against a distilled water
blank on a UV-1206 spectrophotometer (Shimadzu,
Kyoto, Japan). All samples were made in triplicate,
and mean values of total flavonoids contents are
expressed as milligrams of quercetin equivalents per
gram of product calculated according to the standard
calibration curve. Quercetin standard solutions were
prepared by dissolving catechin in water at a
concentration ranging from 2.5 to 25 mg in 100 mL.
The concentration of total polysaccharides
was determined by colorimetric method of phenolsuluric acid assay (Dubois et al., 1956) taking Dglucose as standard control. The protein content was
determined by the method described by Bradford
(1976). Content of the crude protein was determined
by Kjeldahl determination assay, nitrogen was
determined using the Kjeltec Analyzer Unit (2300,
Sweden).
The amino acid composition of the
unfermented and fermented products was
determined using an automatic amino acid analyzer
L-8500 (Hitachi, Tokyo, Japan) after the samples
were hydrolyzed in 6M HCl for 22 h at 110C, as
described in Zhang et al. (2013).
The content of total ginkgolic acids in Ginkgo
biloba leaves was determined by HPLC. The FG
was milled, and extracted with 4.8 mL methanol,
shake 3 min, then mixed with 1.2 mL water. The
mixture was sonicated for 20 min, and centrifuged
at 14000 rpm for 10 min. After that, the supernatant
was filtrated through 0.45 m. A Alltima C18 (4.6
mm 250 mm, 5 m) and the mobile phase of
methanol and 1% acetic acid (90:10) were used, the
flow rate was 1.0 mL min (-1), and the wavelength
was 310 nm. The content was calculated with
external standard method.
One gram of each sample was taken and
mixed with 15 mL of 100 mM citrate buffer having
pH 4.8. The samples were incubated for 30 min in
shaker at 200 rpm followed by centrifugation at
9000 g and 4C for 15 min and supernatant was

483

analyzed for enzyme activities.

-glucosidase activity was determined by
modified method of Peralta et al. (1997). The
reaction was carried out by incubating 0.2 ml pnitrophenyl -D-glucopyranoside (pNPG) (9 mM)
with 0.2 ml crude enzyme and 1.6 ml sodium
acetate buffer (200 mM, pH 4.6) at 50 1 C for 15
min. The reaction was stopped by adding 2 ml of
sodium carbonate (100 mM). The release of pnitrophenol was measured at 405 nm from a pnitrophenol standard curve. One international unit of
-glucosidase activity is defined as the amount of
enzyme that releases 1 mol of p-nitrophenol per
min under given assay conditions.
Protease activity was analyzed using the
modified method of Lynn and Clevette-Radford
(1984), and were determined using a corresponding
diagnostic kit (Nanjing Jiancheng Bioengineering
Institute, Nanjing, China). Protease activity unit was
defined as milligrams of azocasein degraded during
2 h of incubation at 38C per milligram of
fermented product. Crude protein from fermented
product was determined by the method of Lowry et
al. (1951). Ovine serum albumin was used as a
standard.
Digestive enzyme activities in pancreatic tissue and
small intestinal contents
Activities of amylase, lipase and protease in
the homogenate supernatants of pancreatic tissue
and small intestinal contents were determined with
commercial kits (Jiancheng Biochemical Reagent
Co., Nanjing, Peoples Republic of China)
according to the manufacturers instructions.
Intestinal histomorphometry
Three cross-sections for each sample were
stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Histological
sections were examined using an image analyzer
(Nikon NIS-Elements BR, Nikon Co., Tokyo,
Japan) to measure villus height and crypt depth.
Villus height was measured from the tip of the villus
to the villuscrypt junction, and the crypt depth was
defined as the depth of the invagination between
adjacent villi (Zhang et al., 2013). A total of 10
intact, well-oriented crypt villus units were selected
per bird for each intestinal cross section, and the
average of these values was used to express the

484

Y. WANWEN ET AL.

mean values of villus height (VH) and crypt depth

(CD) for each bird.
Assay of plasma D-xylose concentration and serum
urea nitrogen (SUN)
For the D-xylose absorptive test, another six
birds (one bird per pen) of each treatment were
given a dose of 0.5 g kg-1 BW D-xylose at a
concentration of 5% (wt/vol distilled water) via oral
gavage. One hour later, plasma was obtained from
wing vein and serum D-xylose concentration was
determined by the method described by Doerfler et
al. (2000). SUN concentration was determined using
commercial reagent kits (Nanjing Jiancheng
Bioengineering Institute, Nanjing, China).
TUNEL assay
Apoptosis of tissue samples was evaluated by
in situ TUNEL labelling. This method detects
extensive DNA degradation, a characteristic event
that often occurs in the early stages of apoptosis
(Schwartzman and Cidlowski, 1993). The TUNEL
assay was carried out on paraffin-embedded sections
of intestinal samples. Briefly, paraffin was removed
from the sections using graded concentrations of
xylene and ethanol and then they were dehydrated.
The sections were digested with 20 mg/mL
proteinase K for 15 min at room temperature. The
sections were then washed and incubated with the
TUNEL reaction mixture (enzyme solution and
labelling solution) for 60 min at 37C in a
humidified
atmosphere.
The slides
were
counterstained with hematoxylin and examined
under a fluorescence inversion microscope
(Olympus I 51, Tokyo, Japan). The apoptotic
index (AI) was calculated by percentage, as follows:
AI = (the number of apoptotic cells/the total number
of cells) 100%.
Statistical analysis
The design for this experiment was a
completely randomized design with 8 replications.
Unless otherwise stated, all data are presented as
means and pooled S.E.M. The statistical
significance of differences among the treatments
(Cont., FBN or FBL) was evaluated using the mixed
procedure of SAS version 9.1 (SAS Institute, Inc.,
Cary, NC). The statistical differences between

treatments were determined by one-way ANOVA.

Statements of significance were P<0.05 unless
noted otherwise.
RESULTS
Changes of main nutritional ingredients before and
after fermentation
The results of the changes of main nutritional
ingredients before and after fermentation in ginkgo
leaves, presented in Table I, reveal that ginkgo
leaves fermented with Bacillus subtilis var. natto
(Bac natto) or Bac licheniformis improves
nutritional value, especially total flavonoids
(approximately 13.64%, 16.67%, respectively),
polysaccharides
(46.91%,
48.28%),
protein
(58.74%, 43.83%), and total amino acid (31.05%,
17.22%) contents, respectively. While the content of
ginkgolic acid, which has been recognized as
hazardous compounds with suspected cytotoxic,
allergenic properties decreased sharply (96.75% and
97.06%, respectively) after fermentation.
Growth performance
As shown in Table IV, no significant
differences (P>0.05) occurred in BWG and FI
among treatments in the period of 1-21 d, 22-42 d
and the overall period. With regard to F/G, there was
no significant difference (P>0.05) among treatment
groups in the period of 1-21 d, however, improved
(P<0.05) F/G in FBN and FBL groups was observed
than that of the control group in the period of 22-42
d and the overall period. Meanwhile, lower (P<0.05)
mortalities were observed (P<0.05) in both the
dietary supplemented groups compared with the
control.
Digestive enzyme activities and intestinal
histomorphometry
Birds fed with FBN and FBL diets had higher
(P<0.05) activities of pancreatic, duodenal and
jejunal protease as well as pancreatic and duodenal
amylase, compared with the control group (Table
V). Feeding FBN or FBL supplemented diets
increased duodenal VH and VH/CD ratio, as well as
jejunal VH/CD ratio compared with the control;
FBL group showed the highest (P<0.05) increase in
jejunal VH compared with the control group (Table
VI).

FERMENTED GINKGO LEAVES ON BROILER DIET

Table IV.-

485

Growth performance of broilers fed diets supplemented with fermented Ginkgo biloba leaves.

Cont.

Dietary treatments1
FBN

FBL

BWG, g/bird/d3
d 0-21
d 22-42
d 0-42

28.80
80.39
54.60

31.25
84.20
57.73

FI, g/bird/d 3
d 0-21
d 22-42
d 0-42

44.71
139.70
92.20
1.55
1.74a
1.69a
2.43a

Items

SEM2

P-value

31.23
83.31
57.27

0.21
0.88
0.63

0.086
0.064
0.073

46.88
138.82
92.35

47.09
133.79
91.58

0.56
1.98
0.89

0.069
0.078
0.071

1.50
1.65b
1.60b
1.78b

1.51
1.61b
1.60b
1.89b

0.09
0.07
0.06
0.10

0.064
0.043
0.048
0.036

F/G3
d 0-21
d 22-42
d 0-42
Mortality rate (%)
a-c

Means within the same row that do not share a common superscript are significantly different (P<0.05) . n=8.
Cont., Basal diet; FBN, basal diet with 0.35% Bac natto fermented ginkgo leaves; FBL, basal diet with 0.35% Bac licheniform
fermented ginkgo leaves;
2
Standard error of the mean based on pooled estimate of variation.
3
BWG, body weight gain; FI, Feed intake; F/G, Feed gain ratio.
1

Table V.-

Digestive enzyme activities of broilers fed diets supplemented with fermented Ginkgo biloba leaves.

Cont.

Dietary treatments1
FBN

FBL

Pancreas
Protease, unit3
Lipase, Sigma-Tietz unit4
Amylase, Somogyi unit5

146.21b
34.46
33.16b

154.19a
39.52
37.41a

Duodenum
Protease, unit
Lipase, Sigma-Tietz unit4
Amylase, Somogyi unit5

82.62b
20.36
26.43b

Jejunum
Protease, unit
Lipase, Sigma-Tietz unit4
Amylase, Somogyi unit5

68.88b
18.27
15.14

Items

a-b

SEM2

P-value

158.88a
40.70
38.87a

3.46
0.92
1.37

0.025
0.067
0.082

90.46a
20.73
34.08a

92.98a
20.68
35.49a

0.89
0.56
0.36

0.038
0.085
0.042

75.46a
18.82
16.39

74.13a
17.99
16.83

2.10
0.59
0.84

0.041
0.064
0.072

Means within the same row that do not share a common superscript are significantly different (P<0.05). n=8.
Cont., Basal diet; FBN, basal diet with 0.35% Bac natto fermented ginkgo leaves; FBL, basal diet with 0.35% Bac licheniform
fermented ginkgo leaves;
2
Standard error of the mean based on pooled estimate of variation.
3
Protease activity unit was defined as milligrams of azocasein degraded during 2 h of incubation at 38C per milligram of intestinal
digesta protein or pancreas.
4
Amylase activity unit (1 Somogyi unit) was defined as the amount of amylase that will cause formation of reducing power equivalent
to 1 mg of glucose in 30 min at 38C per milligram of intestinal digesta protein or pancreas.
5
Lipase activity unit (1 Sigma-Tietz unit) was equal to the volume (milliliter) of 0.05 M NaOH required to neutralize the fatty acid
liberated during 6 h incubation with 3 mL of lipase substrate at 38C per milligram of intestinal digesta protein or pancreas.
1

486

Y. WANWEN ET AL.

Table VI.-

Small intestine morphology of broilers fed diets supplemented with fermented Ginkgo biloba leaves.

Cont.

Dietary treatments1
FBN

FBL

Duodenum
Villous height (m)
Crypt depth (m)
Villous height to crypt depth ratio

1215.08b
204.61
5.94b

1358.23a
193.93
7.00a

Jejunum
Villous height (m)
Crypt depth (m)
Villous height to crypt depth ratio

784.89b
168.84
4.65b

Ileum
Villous height (m)
Crypt depth (m)
Villous height to crypt depth ratio

225.24
109.62
2.05

Items

SEM2

P-value

1383.78a
190.70
7.26a

58.46
17.45
0.54

0.036
0.061
0.082

859.3 ab
163.77
5.25a

883.31a
163.37
5.41

68.70
9.26
0.45

0.047
0.068
0.04

236.75
112.92
2.10

242.41
107.94
2.25

14.90
7.30
0.18

0.061
0.073
0.062

a-b

Means within the same row that do not share a common superscript are significantly different (P<0.05). n=8.
Cont., basal diet; FBN, basal diet with 0.35% Bac natto fermented ginkgo leaves; FBL, basal diet with 0.35% Bac licheniform
fermented ginkgo leaves;
2
Standard error of the mean based on pooled estimate of variation.
1

Cont. group
5.2

FBN group

a
ab

FBL group
b

4.7

compared to the control group as shown in Figure 2.

Whereas broilers fed FBN diets led to lower
(P<0.05) SUN levels compared with the control
group (Fig. 2).

4.2
3.7
3.2
a
2.7

2.2
D-xylose

Serum urea nitrogen

Fig. 1. Plasma D-xylose and SUN levels

of broilers fed diets supplemented with
fermented Ginkgo biloba leaves
a-b
Means within the same column that do not
share a common superscript are significantly
different (P<0.05). n=8.
1
Cont., basal diet; FBN, basal diet with 0.35%
Bac natto fermented ginkgo leaves; FBL, basal
diet with 0.35% Bac licheniform fermented
ginkgo leaves.
SUN, serum urea nitrogen

Plasma D-xylose and serum urea nitrogen (SUN)

level
Based on the results presented in Figure 1,
birds in both groups FBN and FBL exerted a
significant increased (P<0.05) plasma D-xylose as

Mucosal apoptosis index (AI)

Plasma D-xylose and SUN levels

(nmol/L)

5.7

20
18
16
14
12
10
8

Control group

FBN group

FBL group

b
b

6
4
2
0
Duodenum

Jejunum

Fig. 2. Mucosal apoptosis index (AI) of

broilers fed diets supplemented with fermented
Ginkgo biloba leaves
a-c
Means within the same column that do not
share a common superscript are significantly
different (P<0.05). n=8.
1
Cont, basal diet; FBN, basal diet with 0.35%
Bac natto fermented ginkgo leaves; FBL, basal
diet with 0.35% Bac licheniform fermented
ginkgo leaves

Apoptosis detection of duodenal mucosa

Apoptosis of intestinal tissue was evaluated
by in situ TUNEL labeling. As shown in Figure 2,

FERMENTED GINKGO LEAVES ON BROILER DIET

dietary treatment had no effect on mucosal

apoptosis index (AI) in jejunum. Significant
decreased duodenal AI (P<0.05) was observed in
FBN and FBL groups compared with the control
group.
DISCUSSION
Flavonoids are a large group of polyphenolic
compounds, numerous studies have revealed that the
flavonoids stem from their aglycones (Hendrich
2002; Kawakami et al., 2005), and flavonoids
aglycones are more easily and rapidly absorbed in
the intestines after fermentation (Izumi et al., 2000).
The present study was designed to evaluate the
effects of fermented Ginkgo biloba-leaves, with the
view of its potential inclusion in chicken diets as an
alternative feed resource for feeding poultry. This
study used oriental Ginkgo biloba-leaves that are
most common cultivated in many parts of the world
and are grown on commercial scale in parts of
China. The question addressed in this paper was
whether the intake of fermented Ginkgo biloba
leaves could beneficially affect the host, by
selectively stimulating the growth or intestinal
absorption function or cell proliferation of the small
intestines, thus improving guts functions through
maintaining intestinal mucosal structure.
In the present study, the improved F/G in FG
groups may be attributed to the improvement in
intestinal health status of birds fed diets
supplemented with FG. The structure of the
intestinal mucosa can reveal some information on
gut health. Stressors that are present in the digesta
can lead to relatively rapid changes in the intestinal
mucosa because of the close proximity of the
intestinal contents to the mucosal surface. One
possible hypothesis about changes in intestinal
morphology, such as shorter villi and deeper crypts,
has been associated with the presence of toxins (Xu
et al., 2002). Shortening of the villus decreases the
surface area for nutrient absorption. The crypt can
be regarded as a villus factory, and a large crypt
indicates fast tissue turnover and a high demand for
new tissue (Yason et al., 1987). Demand for energy
and protein for gut maintenance is higher compared
with other organs. A fast-growing broiler devotes
about 12% of the newly synthesized protein to the

487

digestive tract (Yason et al., 1987). Any additional

tissue turnover will increase nutrient requirements
for maintenance and will therefore lower the
efficiency of the bird. A shortening of the villus and
a large crypt can lead to poor nutrient absorption,
increased secretion in the gastrointestinal tract,
diarrhea, reduced disease resistance, and lower
overall performance. In the present study, the VH of
the duodenum and jejunum were affected as dietary
supplementation of FG. These results are in
accordance with the results for performance. The
crypt is the area where stem cells divide to permit
renewal of the villus; a large crypt indicates fast
tissue turnover and a high demand for new tissue.
This may be explained by the results of decreased
mucosal apoptosis index in duodenum and jejunu.
Pancreatic and intestinal digestive enzymes
play a crucial role in the digestion and absorption of
ingested macromolecules. From the present results,
it may be postulated that the supplementation of
fermented Ginkgo biloba leave would trigger the
secretion of digestive enzymes under certain
circumstances (e.g., age of birds, dose of
phytogenic, bird species, type and quality of basal
diet, bird health, and environmental and
management conditions), which could enhance
digestion of nutrients in the intestine. Furthermore,
the increased intestinal protease and amylase is in
accordance with the lower urea nitrogen excretion
(Chah et al., 1975), and the reason is likely to be the
better dietary nitrogen utilization in FBN and FBL
group than the control group. Lower urea nitrogen
excretion and the improvement of enzyme activities
in small intestinal contents of broilers may be
mostly due to the inactivation of anti-nutritional
factor. Fermentation may decrease or eliminate antinutritional constituents (Chen et al., 2009). Hong et
al. (2004) showed that large-size peptides, such as
antigenic proteins, could be degraded to small-size
peptides. In the present study, reduction in
antinutritional factorsprotein complexes might
have spared more protein and starch for digestion
(Viveros et al., 2001; Mansoori et al., 2007), and the
reduction in anti-nutritional factorsenzyme
complexes may have spared digestive enzymes to
enhance the digestibility of the nutrients (Mahmood
et al., 2006, 2008; Farran et al., 2001), ultimately
resulting in more efficient utilization of the diets and

488

Y. WANWEN ET AL.

improved F/G of the broilers. Ginkgolic acid has

been recognized as hazardous compounds with
suspected cytotoxic and allergenic properties. In the
present study, the content of ginkgolic acid was
decreased sharply after fermentation (Liu and Zeng,
2009). Therefore, the improvement of activities of
intestinal enzymes in broilers fed with FG presented
here may be associated with degradation of protein
by enzymes and ginkgolic acid in FG (Table 1), and
this needs further research (Hong et al., 2004).
Furthermore,
D-xylose is a poorly metabolized pentose,
which is absorbed from the upper small intestine,
primarily by passive diffusion and, to a lesser
extent, by the same active transport system
responsible for absorbing glucose (Hu et al., 2011).
The D-xylose absorption test has been used in
poultry to provide a simple, specific, and sensitive
test for intestinal absorption and malabsorption
(Doerfler et al., 2000). The decreased plasma Dxylose as an indicator of malabsorption that has
been demonstrated in several cases of viral-induced
intestinal dysfunction in poults. Histologically, the
malabsorptive condition was reflected as villus
atrophy and crypt hypertrophy (Perry et al., 1991).
As expected, a marked elevation (P=0.023) of
plasma D-xylose levels was observed after FG
administration, which may result from the improved
intestinal morphology and digestive enzymes
activity after FG administration.
In conclusion, the results indicated that
supplementation of 0.35% FG in the diets, improved
feed efficiency, intestinal morphology, digestion
and absorption function of broilers. Further studies
are needed to assess fermented Ginkgo biloba leaves
as a medicinal herb feed additive in broilers for
enhanced growth performance and its potential use
in practical diets.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to thank the National
Twelfth Five-Year Plan for Science and
Technology Support in China (2012BAD21B04),
and a Project Funded by the Priority Academic
Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education
Institutions (PAPD) for financially supporting this
study. Thanks are also due to the Advanced Analysis

Testing Center of Nanjing Forestry University.

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(Received 31 December 2014, revised 7 January 2014)